The Little Things (Bughead One-Shots)
by cooper-jones
Summary: A collection of bughead one shots as and when they come to me (aka I don't abandon them halfway).
1. I, Elizabeth, take thee, Jughead

_**It's Betty's wedding day but she's not in love with her fiance. And a certain someone from her past showing up doesn't help the situation.**_

 _ **A/N: Based on the infamous "I, Ross, take thee, Rachel" scene from Friends. Also, possibly the most angsty and simultaneously idealistic fic I've ever written. Thanks for reading!**_

* * *

A knock resounded through the much too big hotel room, making Betty jump. She slowly made her way toward the door, wondering and dreading who it could be.

It could be Cheryl, coming to tell her that some aspect of the wedding was already falling apart.

It could be her mother, coming to tell her that she was "doing her right thing" (a mantra she had been hearing for the last year).

It could be Veronica, coming to claw her eyes out.

Suffice to say, Betty wasn't looking forward to opening the door.

However, the person she was least expecting was the one she found on the other side of the door.

"Archie..." she said, staring at her red-haired childhood best friend. He didn't look too happy about saying whatever he was going to say.

"Jughead's not coming," he simply said, not bothering to exchange pleasantries. Betty felt pain at the familiar yet foreign name shoot through her. After all, she hadn't heard his name in the last four months of her life. The name brought back a flood of memories of a screaming match that had ensued two months after deciding to "figure it out". A screaming match that had ended in them tangled together under sheets and Betty waking up the next morning to no one.

"Okay," she said, allowing the information to sink in. "Okay, well, we need to - come in - we need to figure out the seating chart because there's this empty space now. Are you sure we can't somehow get your great aunt into joining us? I mean, it is your wedding after all - you'd think she'd want to be there. The alternative is asking Cheryl to hang out at the bar. I'm sure she would be more than happy to oblige about that. Honestly, why would someone RSVP and then cancel last minute. That's just bad etiquette-"

"Betty!" Archie exclaimed, interrupting her rant. She looked up at him, daring him to say whatever he was planning to. "I just told you Jughead wasn't coming and all you can talk about is seating arrangements?"

"Well, what do you want me to say, Archie? I already knew I was expecting too much by asking you to send him an invite. I never imagined he'd say yes. I mean, I haven't seen him in four months. How else am I supposed to react to a practical stranger not showing up for my wedding?"

"I'm just saying, Betty. I mean, I know you guys were close and-"

"Close? I _loved_ him Archie. He was as much family to me as my mom and dad - more so considering the predicament I had been placed in," she said, the admission of how deep her feelings ran making her feel lighter and heavier simultaneously.

"Betty I realise that this is hard but please we-"

"We don't need to do anything. You need to let me figure out the seating arrangement," Betty said, allowing her hair to fall around her face like a curtain to hide the tears pooling in her eyes.

 _I loved you._

She waited until she heard the lock click into place and then got up, going to the window and trying to look at her phone through blurred vision. Unable to make out anything, she scrolled blindly through her contacts and picked someone at random to talk to. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say - she just needed to be alone with someone other than Archie.

The phone rang thrice before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

Instantly Betty's tears ceased and her eyes cleared as she listened to the familiar yet unfamiliar voice in shock.

"Betty? Is that you?" The voice asked again, pulling Betty back from the memories that had engulfed her again.

"Hi... Jughead," she managed to respond and heard a sigh on the other end. But it wasn't the annoyed sigh she had been expecting. It was more resigned like he had known this would happen. She suddenly realised she wished he had been annoyed with her. She wished he would yell at her and she could yell back at him and they could just get into a screaming match about this shitty situation they were in.

"What do you want?" He asked and she could feel the animosity in his tone.

"I just... I needed to talk," she said, still not sure what she would talk about. She waited for him to hang up. But instead, after a moment of silence -

"What's up?" He asked, surprising her.

"Nothing much. You?" She asked in her shock and wanted to kick herself for the idiocy of her response. To her further surprise and relief, she heard chuckling on the other end. Hearing Jughead chuckle sent waves of pain through her but at the same time she suddenly felt lighter.

"Well, I was under the impression that you wanted to talk about you, Betty. I mean you called me," he said and she could see him smiling on the other end. She smiled too, sitting down in the window seat.

"I'm sorry, Jughead," she finally said.

"I'm sorry, too."

"Why are you sorry?"

"There was all this unnecessary pressure on you and my constantly asking you to drop everything and come away with me clearly wasn't helping. I'm sorry, it's just that I get kinda insecure. Especially when it comes to Archie," he said and then they fell into silence again.

"You know, I don't think I was ever in love with Archie," Betty suddenly said after mulling over Jughead's apology.

"I'd beg to differ but go on."

"No, seriously. I mean, I think I was always in love with the idea of us being together. Like some kind of idealistic childhood sweetheart fantasy that I was trying to force Archie into or something. But then I realised at some point that I was never in love with Archie. Well, I loved him platonically but never anything more. Besides, there was always the fact that he wasn't single long enough for me to work up the courage to ask him out, ever."

"Not for lack of trying on your part, though," Jughead said and Betty rolled her eyes but was unable to conceal a laugh of her own.

"I really did believe that Archie and I were meant to be, you know? And somewhere along the line - somewhere around the time he started his on-and-off relationship with Veronica - I just stopped believing and..." she trailed off not knowing how to continue this.

"And then you met me?" He asked and she smiled, tears filling her eyes again for some reason.

"And then I met you."

It was so easy. So _natural_ to speak to Jughead so candidly about their day. It was as if the last four months hadn't happened.

And that feeling lasted until Betty realised how late it was. How she had to be up in a few hours to get ready for - oh god - her wedding. She didn't want to bring it up, though. It was the elephant in the room that they had been tiptoeing around for the last two hours of conversation.

"It's getting late. I should go sleep. And you need to sleep too," Jughead said at long last, bringing Betty back to reality.

"It's a big day tomorrow," he added, with a strained laugh. Betty mirrored this laugh.

"Yeah. It is," she said but neither hung up.

"Goodnight." "I don't want to get married," Jughead and Betty said simultaneously. Jughead was silent for a few moments. Then Betty heard the beep, signaling the end of the call. Betty sighed: it had been only a matter of time before he hung up. Maybe she shouldn't have told him she didn't want the wedding. It just made things more complicated by saying that. And, considering this was the first time they were speaking in three months, they didn't need complicated right now.

* * *

Betty couldn't focus on the book she was trying to read. Her mind either wandered to the phone call she had endured half an hour ago or to what was coming. And god knows she didn't want to think about what was to come. She was trying desperately to focus on Emily Bronte when the doorbell rang. She almost didn't hear it due to the thunder that happened at the same time.

Opening the door, she came face to face with a man completely drenched to the bone.

"Jug-" she began, shocked at seeing him.

"Why would you tell me that?" Jughead asked, not coming in.

"You should come in," Betty said, moving aside.

"Of all the things you could have said, you just _had_ to tell me that you didn't want to marry Archie, didn't you? You do realise you just told me that you wanted to leave my best friend at the altar, don't you?" He said, not heeding her words.

"You're completely drenched. Come in, I'll get you something warmer to wear," she repeated.

"No, I don't want to fucking come in! You know, you had no right to tell me that you loved me! No right at all. I was doing fine until you called. I didn't need you to come in and mess everything up. Wasn't one time enough for you?" He said and Betty head snapped up, meeting his eyes with narrowed eyes of her own.

"Enough for _me_? Really, Jug? You think I wanted any of this? I was fine too! I was fucking _brilliant_ until Archie barged in here telling me that you weren't coming. And really, Jug? Not coming for your ex's wedding? Isn't that a little juvenile? I mean, that's incredibly petty - even for you. And don't even get me _started_ on your strategy at trying to guilt me into apologizing for the truth. I am not going to say I want to marry Archie and you know what? It's entirely your fucking fault," she said and he fell silent, staring at her in confusion. She rolled her eyes and was about to ask him to leave when he said, in a much softer tone, "What do you mean it's my fault?"

Betty stared at him, not knowing how to respond. She could tell by the way he asked that he already knew why but was waiting for her to say it.

Instead she kissed him.

It was the happiest she had felt in weeks. After an initial shock, Jughead relaxed and cupped her face, his hands reclaiming their former position. When they finally separated, Betty, after allowing her breathing to level said, "That's why."

Those two words seemed to bring Jughead back to reality. He opened his eyes and let his hands drop from her face, stepping away. Betty nodded once, giving a tight-lipped smile and stepped back, over the threshold of the hotel room.

"I can't do this, Betty," Jughead said, after a few moments of silence.

"I know," she replied.

"It's too complicated."

"Yup," she nodded.

"Yeah, well, I should go," he said and Betty nodded, blinking a little faster and harder.

"You should," she agreed. But neither moved a muscle.

Instead he kissed her.

The door locked behind them and clothes found themselves strewn around the extravagant room as they made their way to the bedroom, relishing in the comfort of familiarity.

* * *

Betty woke up to an empty bed, immediately re-living four months ago when she had found a note on a pink post-it saying:

 _Sorry. - J_

This time, however, she heard the bathroom door creak open and looked in its direction - Jughead came out, his hair disheveled and only wearing boxer briefs. He caught her staring and smiled in response.

"Hey there, Juliet," he said softly, falling down onto the bed beside her.

"Morning," she replied, smiling at him too.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby. What about you?"

"Likewise. Isn't the saying 'like a baby' stupid considering how much babies cry when they wake up?" He asked and Betty laughed. She really had missed waking up to Jughead throwing linguistic errors at her.

"Adults cry when they wake up, too. They just do it on the inside."

"Ah, now _that_ is a feeling I am familiar with," he said and she gave another laugh. They lay on their backs, staring at the ceiling for a while in silence.

"I missed this," Betty finally said and didn't have to turn her head to know that he was looking at her.

"I missed _you_ ," he replied.

For some reason, it was that statement that brought her back to reality. She looked at Jughead, giving him a smile before glancing at the clock.

 _10 a.m._

Betty sat up so fast, spots clouded her vision for a few moments as the blood rushed to her head.

"Shit. I need to get ready. Oh god what am I doing. Oh my god, what did I do?" She began furiously muttering to herself, realising the gravity of the situation she was in. If her mother were to see her in this position - or worse, Archie - she didn't know what would happen. Jughead seemed to sense the urgency with which Betty rose because he pulled on his jeans.

"I guess this is goodbye then," he said, as Betty came out of the bathroom to get her clothes. Hearing this, Betty stopped and stared at him. She couldn't let him go. Not again. Not without telling him what he needed to know. Approaching him slowly, she said, "Jughead..."

"Don't," he cut her off coldly. She was stunned at this sudden change in manner and he must have noticed because his expression softened.

"Sorry," he said, stepping closer to her, "it's just... I need to leave. I need to go before I see you in your wedding dress. And, if you say what I think you were going to say, it'll make leaving much harder. I just - I can't. Not again."

She opened her mouth, determined to say it. But he stopped her by kissing her instead. Her eyes shut and he pulled away.

"Don't open them," he said and she heard his voice waver. But she obliged and kept them closed for a few moments until she heard the bedroom door click shut. Slowly opening them, she was greeted by an empty bedroom, any trace that he had been there, gone. She let out a resigned sigh and walked over to the wardrobe on the other side of the bed, only to spot something lying on the ground - the beanie.

She wondered if he realised he had left it behind.

She didn't have much time to spend wondering because her mother brought the hair and makeup crew just then and so the beanie was pushed to the back of Betty's mind.

"You look beautiful, Betty," Polly said, four hours later, looking at Betty look at herself in the mirror. Betty didn't have the heart to reply to Polly. It was true - she was a vision in this expensive gown. But she didn't want to be. She wanted to wear a t-shirt and jeans and elope with someone else.

"Are you ready?" Polly asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Betty responded. Polly smiled and walked forward adjusting her veil at the back before moving to the front and pulling the front over her face.

"If there's one thing I learnt from being a rebellious Cooper, it's that you _always_ have a choice," she said, letting the veil rest over her face and stepping back to allow Betty to look at herself. Betty simply nodded - for the first time in her life she didn't believe her sister.

"Well let's go then," Betty said and Polly led the way out of the hotel.

* * *

Betty waited outside the hall for her parents, feeling nauseous and with a perpetual glaze of tears in her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had hated the world so much. She was half thinking of walking down the aisle without them when someone bumped into her from behind to go in.

"I'm sor..." Jughead's words died on his tongue when he laid eyes on her. This was why he hadn't wanted to come. Seeing her in a wedding gown. Thinking about how it shouldn't be Archie who greets her at the end of the aisle. How wrong this all was.

"You - you came," Betty said, bringing him back to reality. He nodded mutely. She ran forward and threw her arms around him, hugging him. He slowly hugged her too.

"How could I miss this," he said, softly, tightening his arms around her.

"Betty! I'm so sorry we're late! Who are - oh, Jughead! You made it," Alice Cooper came running up the stairs of the hall, Hal following close behind. The pair sprang apart, as if they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"Yes, Mrs. Cooper. You look beautiful, by the way," he said, smiling at Alice. She laughed and said, "What a charmer. Well, I'm so glad you could make it Jughead. The more the merrier - that's what I always say."

"I have never heard you say that," Betty commented, earning a sharp look from her mother.

"Irrelevant. Well, Jughead, you had better go in and sit down. It isn't good etiquette to arrive this late but since you're such good friends with Betty, I'll let it go. Go in, then," she said and Jughead nodded. He heard Alice ask Betty she was ready - formality, he supposed - and took a seat at the back.

Betty walked past him, glancing at him once before looking back ahead. A part of him wished she hadn't looked at him while going towards Archie. But he forced himself to sit through it - after all, it was his best friends' wedding.

The vows were excruciatingly long and filled with false emotion. To someone who hadn't met them, by the vows themselves, they would be considered the cheesiest couple on the planet. But Jughead knew that Archie's father had hired someone to write out their vows. It was actually a very sad truth that brought these two families together.

"Now, Archie, repeat after me," the priest said and Jughead felt his stomach drop, unable to tear his eyes away from the very thing causing him pain.

"I, Archibald,"

"I, Archibald."

"Take thee, Elizabeth,"

"Take thee, Elizabeth,"

"As my lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, until death parts us."

"As my lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, until death parts us," Archie said, looking at Betty a little too hard. Jughead watched as Archie put the ring on Betty's finger and decided that now it was too much.

"Betty, repeat after me. I, Elizabeth."

"I, Elizabeth."

Jughead stood up, walking slowly to the door. No heads turned in his direction.

"Take thee, Archibald,"

His hand reached for the door. Two or three heads turned to look at him.

"Take thee, Jughead."

His hand stopped in mid-air as a few gasps passed through the guests. He turned around, looking at the altar, finding all eyes on him. Betty was staring at him, her mouth dropped open, Archie staring at her. Cheryl and Polly were staring at Jughead wide-eyed, no doubt blaming him for disrupting the ceremony.

"Archie," Betty said, her voice cutting through the crowd. "Archie. I take thee, Archie," she repeated, trying to pretend like she hadn't said someone else's name. Archie's parents stood up and went to the altar and Jughead could see that there was a furious argument taking place. Betty's parents went there too and the argument continued. Betty looked just about ready to dissolve into tears. Jughead didn't know how it happened but the next thing he knew, Archie had taken Betty's hand and was leading her down the aisle, towards Jughead. Every instinct told Jughead to run but he was frozen in place.

"Archie, um-" he began, not knowing what he would say. Luckily he didn't have to because Archie just walked past him, not sparing him a glance, taking Betty into a room adjacent to the main hall. The room was much smaller and had a table and chair in a corner apart from the windows.

"What the hell, Arch," Betty said, when he finally let go of her hand.

"Tell me now, Betty," he said and she frowned.

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me whether or not you want to do this."

"I - I-" Betty stuttered, feeling her mind blanking.

"Yeah, I thought not," he said and sighed. "It's because of Jughead, isn't it?"

"Archie-"

"Isn't it?"

"Yes - yes it is," she replied.

"Goddammit," Archie said.

"I'm sorry, Archie," Betty said, casting her eyes downward. He didn't reply for a while and Betty watched him carefully as he paced in the small room. Then he went to the window and pushed it open. Walking back to Betty, he said, "You need to leave."

"Through... that?"

"Yes. I'll get Jughead and you guys need to get out."

"Where will we go?"

"Anywhere, Betty. Go on the honeymoon we were supposed to have - whatever. Just leave."

"Archie, I'm sorry. But I made a promise to my parents and-"

"And what about you, Betty? I mean, you are so... perfect. We both know I'll never be good enough for you. But Jughead - he loves you. He told me. And I know you love him so you need to leave. Get out of this town and start living your lives together. You deserve it."

"And here I thought I'd be forced to have an affair behind your back," Betty said with a smile, after a pause. Archie laughed and pulled her into a hug. She smiled and felt lighter than she had in months. It didn't feel like running away. More like running toward something. Archie exited the room and, a few moments later, Jughead walked in.

"You forgot your beanie," Betty said, smiling at him. With a few long strides he was in front of her and he kissed her again.

"I love you, Betty Cooper," he said, as they stood, foreheads touching. Betty gave a laugh.

"Jughead Jones, I love you."


	2. For the Ages

**_Jughead is crazy nervous about the thing currently weighing down his pocket._**

 ** _A/N: okay so I've been on a chick-flick spree which resulted in this cheese-filled one shot. Fair warning: this has copious amounts of fluff and zero smut. Thanks for reading!_**

* * *

"You okay, Jug?" Betty asked, eyeing her apparently too-nervous-for-words boyfriend as he shuffled on his feet, unable to stay still.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's just a bit chilly, wouldn't you agree?" He asked and she shrugged, thankfully not asking for his jacket as they walked down the empty streets of Riverdale. It had been a while since they had come back here. After everything that had happened with Jason and Fred and Cheryl, Jughead and Betty couldn't wait to get out of this small, once-perfect town. The only people they missed were their families – but Riverdale itself they were all too ready to bid goodbye to (well maybe except to Pop Tate).

"It's weird being back here, isn't it? Being alumni in Riverdale High and everything," Jughead said, as they turned a corner. Betty's smile was laced with nostalgia as she smiled at the empty streets. Riverdale had become even smaller since their leaving. It seemed most of the town had a similar idea about the safety of Riverdale following all the chaos that had happened.

"Yeah. I mean, I know this town wasn't ever really safe but it still makes me feel... safe – is that weird?"

"It's understandable," Jughead said, slipping his hand into hers and intertwining their fingers. She smiled up at him.

"So, remind me why you wanted to come to Riverdale, again?"

"I told you! My dad wanted to see us."

"Your dad wanted to see you."

"Betty, by this point, I'm pretty sure he loves you more than he loves me. When you went to get the pie, he wouldn't stop talking about you. It was actually borderline creepy," Jughead said, rolling his eyes. Betty chuckled as they walked past the newly constructed mall, where the drive-in had once stood. They looked at it and sighed. It was so out of place in Riverdale. The fanciness of a mall was unnecessary and stood out as too glamorous in the quiet neighbourhood. The couple eyed it distastefully.

"I mean, I guess it adds a new layer...?"

"It's hideous, Betty," he replied matter-of-factly and Betty had to agree.

"It really is the nail in the coffin that is Riverdale, isn't it?" She echoed his words back at him and he grinned at her.

"Don't remind me, Cooper. It was a dark time for me," Jughead said, although they both knew he had written almost too many articles about his beloved drive-in since. Of course, they had all remained on his laptop – god knows people in New York couldn't give less of a shit about a tiny drive-in closing in Riverdale and the sentiments it awakened in one of the best investigative journalists in the city. Besides, publishing articles about the drive-in sort of went against the whole good riddance feeling.

Betty glanced at her watch:

 _10:00 p.m._ it read and she frowned. Jughead wanted to go to see Pop Tate (apparently the drive-in wasn't where the sentimentality ended) but surely he would know that the diner would be closed right now. After all, he had basically lived there for a major part of his life.

"Jug, are you sure Pop Tate's going to be up this late?" She asked as they managed to tear their eyes away from the anomaly that was the mall and continue their stroll.

"I told him I was coming so yes, I think he'll stay open. Especially since I gave him the most business he's ever had," he said, wearing this accomplishment like a badge of honour. Betty raised an eyebrow at this in amusement, flustering him.

"What? He told me. He even had my picture put up in the diner when we left," he said, although his ears were turning a little red. His mentioning the day they left brought back a flood of memories to Betty. Jughead and her had managed to get into universities in New York while Veronica and Archie were separated by an ocean – Archie was going abroad to study music. But, in their case, distance did make the heart grow fonder, it seemed. Betty and Jughead soon found themselves to be academic rivals which somehow only seemed to make their relationship stronger.

They were the couple that wasn't meant to last. The couple that was running on "borrowed time" (as Jughead so eloquently put it in a fit of anger). And yet, here they were, seven years later – walking hand-in-hand as if they'd just gotten together last week.

 _"Isn't this what people like us – who have gone through what we've gone through – do?"_

For the second time Jughead's words echoed in Betty's head. It made her smile to see where they were. Walking in the same place where they had started. It brought a smile to her face which Jughead noticed.

"What is it?"

"The last time we did this, there was a killer on the loose," she replied and he laughed.

"I mean, statistically speaking, there is probably at least one right now, too."

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

"It's nice," he agreed and she smiled, adjusting her hand in his.

They approached the diner. It had somehow remained the only constant in Riverdale. The sign was still lit up and the warmth from within welcoming as they entered. The jukebox was already playing softly when they walked in and Betty sighed, allowing nostalgia and a real feeling of home wash over her as she inhaled the familiar scent of burgers and coffee. You had to look closely to see any changes – the booths were slightly more worn, the jukebox dustier, the floor holding a few more stains – but it remained more or less the same. Jughead hung back to shut the door behind them as Betty walked forward towards their regular booth.

"Where's Pop Tate? In the-" she stopped short when she turned around to face Jughead. With both hands, he was holding a small black box. It was unassuming but Betty stood with bated breath.

Somehow she hadn't seen this coming.

But now that she thought about it, it all made sense: the nervousness, the insistence on going to the diner, Jughead constantly feeling his pocket throughout the evening.

"Betty Cooper," he began and then paused and Betty saw tears form in his eyes. She stood there frozen, waiting.

"Betty Cooper," he began again after swallowing a few times, "you have been everything to me. For seven years, you have been my rock, my support system, and the only person who has believed in and stood by me through thick and thin. When I told you my dad wanted us to come to Riverdale that wasn't strictly true. Well, actually it was true – he did badger me to come," Betty let out a laugh at this and only then was aware of tears in her own eyes, "but I more wanted to meet your family. Not your dad – couldn't care less about him – but I wanted to meet Polly. I wanted to meet Polly so I could ask her if I could-" he paused again, words apparently failing him. Betty took a step towards him, raising her eyebrows, asking him to continue.

He swallowed again.

"Not that I need anyone's permission or that you're anyone's to give away. But I spoke to Archie who spoke to Veronica, who spoke to Kevin and they told me that I should talk to Polly. I know it's old-fashioned but you know, it's me – I'm an old soul. Sorry, I'm rambling," he said, looking away and hastily wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Betty gave another laugh at this.

"It's just... I never thought I would ever get... well, this. I never thought I could ever be so lucky. I never thought I would be lucky enough to meet my soulmate. Good god, this sounds cheesy as hell, doesn't it? Sorry. I guess what I'm saying is: Betty Cooper, I had been irrevocably in love with you for the last seven years of my life and they have, without doubt been the best seven years a man could possibly hope for. With that said, would you do me the absolute honour and privilege of being my wife?"

She slowly came closer and, placing her hands on his cheeks –

"Yes."

And she kissed him.

No matter how unexpected this had been, she realised, in that moment, that she didn't even have to think about what her response was going to be. It had always been there – at the tip of her tongue just waiting to be said.

After all, their love was one for the ages.


	3. I Heart You

_**Betty stole Jughead's groceries which somehow leads to them failing at baking together. (Based on recent Sprousehart activity).**_

* * *

"Wow, Jughead, did you really buy lettuce?" Archie asked, pulling out the whole lettuce that Jughead had brought back from the grocery store. Apparently going shopping with Betty meant bringing back stuff that actually needed cooking and wasn't just microwave pizza. Jughead groaned, looking at the lettuce disdainfully.

"Betty said I needed to eat healthy. Something about never seeing me eat anything but burgers and onion rings," he replieda and Archie laughed.

"Well I'm glad you're dating her, man. I mean, _look_ at all this _stuff!"_ Archie exclaimed, overturning the rest of the contents onto their dining table. Out fell beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, onions, chicken, and slim milk. "You'd think we'd need to feed an army or something. Also, slim milk? I didn't realise you were watching your weight, Jug," Archie said, chuckling. Jughead rolled his eyes and picked up the milk.

"This is for her – not us. I'll run down and give it to her," he said, exiting their flat. Once outside, he thought about the contents on the table and smiled for a moment before shaking his head and going down to where Betty lived with Veronica. The latter was out of town for the weekend. Something about her dad. At this point, Jughead had taught himself to tune out whenever Veronica mentioned her father.

Out of habit, he opened the door without knocking and heard something crash in the kitchen.

"Betty?" He called out, uncertainty and worry colouring his tone. There was complete silence for a few moments before she responded.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?" He began walking towards the kitchen. Hardly had he taken two steps in its direction when a flour-covered Betty Cooper came running out, apron undone and flapping around her as she bounded toward him.

"Don't go there!" She screamed and collided with him. The milk fell, split open, and spilled all over the floor. Betty looked at it and her face crumpled with embarrassment and anxiety. "Veronica's going to _kill_ me. We _just_ had the floors redone."

"Didn't you move in last week?"

"Yeah turns out her dad is _super_ generous," she said, rolling her eyes and going back into the kitchen. Ignoring her instruction, Jughead followed.

To say that the kitchen was a mess would have been an understatement.

It was as if Betty had single-handedly recreated the party she had thrown at Archie's house all those years ago. Except the spilled alcohol was replaced with spilled flour and broken eggshells. Betty grabbed the washcloth and turned around to find Jughead staring at her in disbelief. Her cheeks heated up with an even deeper embarrassment as she waited for his reaction. To her surprise and relief, Jughead began laughing.

"What the fuck happened here?" He managed to choke out in between guffaws.

"I was _trying_ to bake a cake. Apparently, I'm not very good at literally anything in the culinary area. I was going to bake a cake and bring it up for you because of how hard you tried to get me to eat healthy. Sort of like a "suck it!" moment. But then," she hesitated and motioned to the mess in the kitchen, "this happened."

"You wanted to bake a cake?" He asked, incredulity evident in his voice. Betty nodded mutely, waiting for the sarcastic quip that usually followed such questions. Instead, surprising her again, he walked over to the hooks where the aprons hung and, taking Veronica's apron, put it.

"Well, then. Shall we begin baking the cake, Betty Cooper?"

Turned out baking with Jughead was a lot more fun. Unfortunately, a lot more fun also meant that it took a lot longer than it would have otherwise. It meant batter on each other's noses. Trying to sneak batter behind each other's backs. Throwing eggs at each other (and wasting four perfectly good eggs in the process) and eating whipped cream straight out of the can.

Finally the cake was in the oven and so the couple disappeared into the bedroom to have a different kind of fun while the cake baked.

The timer rang and Betty and Jughead came back into the kitchen, taking out the cake. Eagerly, Betty poked a toothpick into it... only to discover it was still raw in the centre.

"What the hell?" She said, staring at the runny centre in disbelief. Jughead's face fell. Clearly they had both seriously believed that this was going to be a success.

"What do we go now?" Jughead asked, taking his turn at examining the batter-covered toothpick.

"I don't know... Google it?" She said, looking at him unsurely. He nodded and she grabbed her phone, typing in:

 _middle of cake not cooking._

"Apparently we just need to stick it in the oven for longer," she said, skimming the first result she got. Jughead nodded and put the cake back in the oven. Once again, they disappeared into Betty's bedroom. After all, it was rare that Veronica left them alone.

When they returned to the kitchen and Jughead said, "Okay, now we need to talk about you switching the grocery bags. You can't do this every time we buy groceries, Betty – I'm starting to lose my reputation as the most unhealthy one in the group."

"Okay but Juggie you had _marshmallows_ in your bag!"

"Do you truly believe that I wouldn't want to give my marshmallows to you? To the woman I love? Betty, I would give you the entire packet. I just need to be the one who _owns_ it."

"Sounds like a pile of fragile masculinity BS to me," she replied shrugging and Jughead rolled his eyes, yet unable to hold back a smile. It had only taken a week for Betty to be this relaxed. A week away from her family and already her ponytail was becoming looser. He was about to respond to this when they smelled burning.

"What's – _oh fuck!"_ Betty whipped open the oven and smoke billowed out. Coughing, she waved her hand in front of her face and reached in to take out the cake. The top was black – completely burnt. It had gone down the sides to some extent too, taking away nearly a fourth of the cake.

"Betty, I'm so sorry," he said, shaking his head at this tragic sight. Betty didn't say anything. She simply stared at the cake for a while. Then, just as Jughead was going to propose saying some words before throwing it in the trash, Betty announced, "I can salvage it."

"If you say so," he replied, smiling at her enthusiasm at knowing how to save the cake. She disappeared to the other side of the kitchen for a few moments, only returning to take the icing. Jughead tried to sneak up on her a few times to see what she was doing but everytime, without so much as a glance in his direction, Betty would say his name in a warning I-know-what-you're-doing tone and he would guiltily skulk away to his side of the kitchen.

Twelve minutes later, Betty announced, "Okay – it's done!"

"Brilliant. What is?" He asked and she rolled her eyes, smiling at him and bringing the cake back. If you could still consider it a cake. It was more like a cookie made out of cake batter at this point. The surface was completely flat and Jughead was sure that there were fingers fatter than the thickness of the cake. But somehow, this was all okay because of the orange icing on the cake which read:

 _I_ _YOU_

"You... heart me?" Jughead asked, a smile playing along his lips.

"Mhm. Yeah – that's _exactly_ what it says. I swear, Jughead, sometimes I wonder why I even do things for you."

"I think I know why," he said, his smile widening.

"Why?"

"Because, Betty Cooper, you _heart_ me," he said and started laughing. Betty rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a smile.

"I guess you're right. But, let's be clear, you heart me, too."

"How could I not?" He said and kissed her. Betty took this opportunity to take some frosting off the cake and, when they pulled apart, she put a large dollop on the tip of his nose, giggling. Jughead retaliated with his own finger of frosting.

Both were careful not to touch the heart and so, by the end of it, all the cake had was a on it.


	4. Beanie

**A 2.05 fix it fic bc I needed to write it.**

 _ **How Jughead knew that Archie was lying (aka, how I would have written the breakup).**_

* * *

After an argument about how the front porch wasn't going to be dangerous to Betty, Alice finally let her daughter go to the door to say goodbye to her boyfriend. Jughead turned around to face Betty before descending the stairs to leave and said, "You know none of this is your fault right? The Black Hood - whoever he is - is a psychopath. Whatever he's doing, it's not because of you."

She nodded, furiously blinking back tears again. She felt exhausted from everything that had happened and was so glad Jughead was here. He noticed her tears and instinctively pulled her into a hug.

"If something like this happens again, call me okay? I don't care if I don't pick up on the first ring - for whatever stupid reason - I want you to keep trying until I do."

"Okay," she said and slowly he let her go, wiping away one fallen tear with his thumb before leaning in and kissing her.

They stood forehead to forehead after breaking the kiss and Betty said, "Jug, if anything… happens to me or, worse, to you, we should have a code word."

"A code word?"

"Yeah."

"Like what?" He asked and she glanced around until her eyes came to rest on the wet beanie he was holding.

"Like… beanie," she said and he couldn't help the smile that appeared. Betty smiled too and he nodded before squeezing her hand once.

"Goodnight, Betty."

"Bye, Jughead."

* * *

"I came here to tell you to stay away from Betty. She doesn't want to see you anymore," Archie said and Jughead felt like he had been slapped. He stared at his best friend in disbelief. He tried arguing about how he had just seen her, only then realising how completely broken she had seemed when they had met. How desperate her kiss had been when he walked in.

"She's been wanting to break up with you for weeks."

Another slap.

"She saw where you were headed, Jughead. We all did. And she knows you can't be with them and with her. And come on, man! You know it, too," Archie finished and Jughead stared at him, trying to read this as a lie. But all he could see was disgust at what he was planning to do. He wished Betty had done this herself. He wished he could explain why he was doing this - he just wanted to keep her safe.

"She also sent me to return this," Archie said, stuffing a beanie into Jughead's hands. The amount of finality the beanie carried only made his heart sink futher.

Beanie.

Jughead did everything in his power not to smile. The last time he had felt this surge of relief, Cheryl had lied on the witness stand. Crumpling the beanie in his fist, he looked Archie in the eye and, putting on his signature, unreadable expression, said, "Tell Betty I got the message."

Archie pushed past him and left. Jughead sighed, glancing down at the beanie in his hand again. Now, he was left to stew in worry about what the hell was going on with his girlfriend.


	5. Rewrite the Stars

_When her parents vehemently disapprove of her dating him, Betty runs after Jughead and tries to tell him that together, they may be able to rewrite the stars in their favour._

 _ **A/N: so I may be a little obsessed with The Greatest Showman soundtrack and from that, this was born. This song is probably my favourite from the soundtrack and in the fic I'm including the reprise with them in the hospital. Angst galore in this one. Thanks for reading! (Un-beta'd)**_

* * *

Betty had never seen him so dressed up for anything. Hell, she hadn't even known he owned a suit. And yet, here he was, wearing a three piece suit, to accompany her to the ballet that evening. In her mind, with her emerald green gown, shimmering in the moonlight every time she took a step, and his suit glistening when it fell along his back, they were a vision. A vision of the same social standing.

That didn't mean people didn't whisper as he jogged up the stairs of the ballet to meet her.

But, for the first time, she didn't care. All she knew was she loved him and he loved her and this was her way of telling the world. Or rather the town they lived in - her world.

"I didn't know you owned a suit," she commented when he reached her and gave her a hesitant kiss on the cheek. He blushed, glancing down, studying his polished shoes.

"I rented it for tonight," he admitted and she felt a surge of regret at the comment. They had discussed his needing the money to rent a suit three months ago when she had pitched the idea of the ballet. Since then, it had completely slipped her mind.

"Juggie, I'm so sorry. I wasn't-"

"It's fine. Let's just go enjoy the ballet, shall we?" He motioned up the second flight, to the giant doors. Her shoulders sagged in relief and she nodded, smiling. He slipped his gloved hand through hers, intertwining their fingers, allowing her to take the lead.

"Betty?" Their climb was interrupted before it began with Betty's parents emerging behind them. Betty hadn't seen them since the last time they had fought about her seeing Jughead.

"Mom, dad," she acknowledged with a curt nod. Jughead could almost see her guard rising as her grip on his hand tightened.

"It's one thing to see that... _man_ ," her father barely got the word out, "in the way you are but to bring him to something as prestigious to the ballet. We thought we raised you to be better, Elizabeth."

"Funny, I thought you raised me to love the ballet and show it to all my friends. From where I'm standing, Jughead is definitely one of those friends," she said, her grip loosening when she realised that she could handle herself. Jughead, on the other hand, could feel his face flaring up at her father's words.

"Oh Elizabeth, don't be sarcastic. It isn't an attractive quality in a woman of your standing," her mother said, tutting her tongue. "Besides, your father is right. There's a time and place to see Jughead and the ballet isn't one of those places. Besides I'm sure he has better things like shining shoes on the street or something. Would still be better than that no-good father of his. His mother was the smartest in that family," Alice finished, each word cutting deeper into Jughead. When she brought up Gladys, Jughead instantly dropped Betty's hand altogether and allowed his legs to take him down the stairs as quickly as he could without tripping over himself.

"Jughead!" Betty called after him as he disappeared. When she looked back at her parents, both of them had told-you-so looks on their faces.

"Let him go, Betty. He doesn't belong here anyway. Bringing him here - I know you're lashing out, Betty. But this is a little extreme, even for you. Even he knows that your background isn't one that let's you bring someone like him to an event like this," her father said and Betty saw red.

"Well, I guess it's high time my background changed," she spat venomously, before running down the stairs, in pursuit of the man she loved.

Jughead heard furious rapping on his main door. He knew who it was - he knew Betty's knock well enough after the many late night visits. This was the first time, however, that he didn't open the door. Instead he went to the door and listened to her knock five more times.

"Juggie, please, I know you're in there," he heard her on the other side and, after a moment, opened the door. She was still in her gown, holding her shawl in one hand. "I can't believe them. I cannot believe my parents! My entire life it's 'Betty be more feminine; ladies are quiet; ladies are polite; us rich folks with sticks up our ass have to be nice to the lower classes' and then they pull bullshit like this? I'm so sorry, Juggie!"

"Are you cold?" He asked and she looked up in surprise at his reaction.

"No, I'm okay," she replied and he nodded, sitting down on the couch. She joined him and took his hand. "Say something, please."

"What do you want me to say? Everything they said was true. I don't belong there - in the world of suits and ballet and shimmering gowns. Who am I kidding, Betty? I'm much better off staying in my lane. I mean, if the first time we go out together in public was so bad, maybe it's just fate that we should stay away from each other."

"You don't mean that," she said, her voice thick with tears.

"But that's the thing, Betts. I _do."_

"Well fate is stupid then!" She sounded like a child and it made him smile. "We can rewrite the stars, Juggie. Together. You just have to believe in us."

"In us? What? Like I need to believe in the power of love or something?"

"Exactly like that."

"Don't be silly, Betts. There's no rewriting the stars. Maybe in a different life where I were rich or poor or something like that, we could be together. But we can't just change the world using pure willpower. I mean, right now, within these walls, we can be ourselves and together, sure. But," he motioned to the door, "out there, we can't be whoever we want. The world's not going to let us."

"Fuck the world, then!" She exclaimed, standing up and pulling him up. "I'll teach you to be like me. And you can teach me to be like you. We can make our own class - one where nothing matters. Our own _world."_

"I would love nothing more but that's not how the world works. We can make our own destinies but not to that extent. Who are we kidding, Betty? We're on borrowed time!" He said, tears beginning to pool in his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, tears of her own spilling out of her eyes. His fingers longed to brush them away but he balled them up into a fist, fighting every instinct.

"We can't be together only for the world to break us apart, Betty. I'm sorry but... it's too much," he said, stepping away from her.

"I thought you loved me," she barely whispered, not trusting herself to speak clearly.

"You know I love you. It's not a secret I try to hide," he said, with a small smile. She gave him a look of hurt and disappointment before turning and walking out, her gown swaying about her, still shimmering with the false hope it had held a few hours ago.

When he heard about the accident, Jughead dropped the entire stack of shoeboxes he had been holding. It had already been too long before he had received the information - Archie had had to hear it from Veronica before bringing it to Jughead - and he was terrified that she would wake with no one to greet her.

Or worse... he didn't want to think about the alternative. He couldn't allow the last words he had ever said to her be about them not being together.

When he entered the hospital - in all its ridiculous glory - he was greeted by two, very-upset-to-see-him Coopers.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Hal demanded angrily and Jughead had to fight his instinct to cower.

"I'm here to see the woman I love," he declared and Hal glanced around, as if ensuring that no one else had heard this grand proclamation.

"Like hell you are. I'm not going to allow you within a foot of my daughter's room, let alone her bed."

"Hal, just let him see her," Alice said, surprising Jughead.

"Alice that-"

"Our baby girl is in there. We don't even know if she'll wake up. But we do know she loved him. Let him say goodbye. It's what Betty would have wanted," Alice interrupted - something Hal evidently wasn't used to - with tears glistening in her eyes.

"May I go now?" Jughead asked, not sure what the protocol was with Alice on his side.

"What? Oh, yes, I suppose you may," Hal said, still in awe at his wife disagreeing with him, stepping aside and letting Jughead through.

Even in sleep, with plaster on her arms and face, she was a vision. Long repressed feelings resurfaced as Jughead took a seat in the chair beside the bed, taking her hand and clasping it tight, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

"Betts, if you can hear me, I am _so_ sorry. I never meant any of the things I said. If you wake up, I promise I will recreate entire constellations with you, okay? I swear I will. We will make our own destiny - the rest of the world be damned. Just please, _please_ wake up," he said, aware of his cheeks, now wet with rivulets of tears on them.

He woke up when he felt her hand shift in his, her thumb stroking the back of his hand. Tears of relief emerged in his eyes and one fell. A weak hand rose and brushed it away.

"We will rewrite the stars, Betts. Together," he promised and she smiled - it was an exhausted smile and yet it brought with it new life into his bones.

"No, Jughead. We will recreate entire constellations."


	6. The Perfect Storm

_After her relationship with Archie ends in shambles, it takes the perfect storm to wash away Betty's past._

 **A/N: I wrote this between 1am and 5am while listening to Clean by Taylor Swift (which is incidentally what inspired this). I hope you like it!  
Word Count: 4k+**

* * *

The relationship began splintering when Archie left for Europe to study music. Betty, his girlfriend at the time, and him shared a tearful goodbye at the airport. Well, Betty cried. Archie was already making a mental list of everything he was going to do in Europe. But he was the ever-dutiful boyfriend and gave her a long and gentle kiss. He gave Jughead and Veronica a hug each and, giving Betty another kiss, left. He promised to write.

But promises were just words. And words were as fleeting as the amount of time it took for them to leave the lips. Veronica left soon after Archie – another painful goodbye Betty had to endure. Through it all Jughead stayed with her. They were taking a break before university and were going to intern together at the Register to build their resume. And, through both goodbyes, Jughead had held her; helped her pull herself together.

For two months, Archie and Betty wrote diligently to each other. After two months, Betty wrote diligently, Archie wrote back less. What had earlier been a 1:1 ratio now turned into a 5:1 ratio. She told Jughead about it and he told her she was reading too much into it (ironic since, in her mind, she wasn't reading nearly enough). She decided to text him instead and attempted casual conversation. But Archie had become strange and snappy, constantly ending conversations abruptly or leaving her on read. Betty didn't care for either option but she decided not to say anything. It came out one day in an outburst to Jughead while they organised articles by date of publication. She ended up crying into his chest as he held her.

The next day she got a string of messages from her boyfriend, alternating between screenshots and text, angry and scolding her for confiding in her friend. Betty was hurt and didn't understand why he was acting this way. But she didn't say anything to Jughead, instead giving him a faux smile and replying with "I'm fine" every time he asked if she was okay. He once asked her if she had spoken to Archie and, after deliberating on how to respond, she finally threw a yes over her shoulder in his direction. He seemed unconvinced but didn't push the matter. They went for milkshakes to Pop's after and somehow, between Jughead's bizarre south side stories and the interest he had in her life now that Archie and Veronica were gone, she forgot entirely about Archie for three hours.

At home, she noticed she had a message from Veronica on Instagram. Opening it, she saw Veronica had sent her Cheryl's story. Opening the picture, she saw it was a picture of her and Jughead at the booth in Pop's, captioned _archandrews look out lmao_ and her eyes widened before she consoled herself that Archie would never assume she were cheating on him with his best friend of all people. But then Veronica's message was one of complete shock, as if she believed what Betty had thought no one would ever assume about her.

 **B, what the hell?**

 **There's nothing going on there, V. Jug and I just decided to go to Pop's after work. How were we supposed to know Cheryl would be documenting everything.**

She left it at that. As far as she was concerned, she had done her part. If Veronica insisted on not believing, she didn't think she would be able to change her mind. Instead she decided to flick through stories. She went through Veronica's, Jughead's (which was a video of her trying to reach a top shelf file while he laughed at her instead of helping), Cheryl's (again), and finally came to Archie's, which had been updated while she was looking at the others'.

He seemed to be having fun: his was filled with selfies – nearly all of them with girls. And there was a certain girl who figured in all of them. Months later, Betty would wonder why she was genuinely surprised when she reached the last picture and saw them kissing.

Her held it so it wouldn't disappear from view and stared at it. She then saw a tiny bit of text in one corner _cherylbombshell don't need to_. She was too shocked to even cry. Some part of her hoped that if she stared at it long enough it would change and become just another selfie. Instead her phone pinged with the first message – Veronica again.

 **I'm so sorry, B.**

It was only then that the reality sunk in. Slowly tears crept into her eyes as she tapped on his story again, looking at the picture again, trying to see if it had changed. The second time hit her with much more impact and the first sob left her lips. Her phone pinged with a message from Cheryl.

 **Betty, that was disgusting. I'm so sorry, I didn't realise he would react like that. Ew. Anyway, I'm sorry and if there's anything you need please lmk.**

Betty's hands were shaking and she could barely read her shaking screen through her blurred vision. She gnashed her teeth together to prevent sound – she didn't need her mother coming into her room with her condescending pity, served with a side of "told you so". She let her phone drop onto her bed and fought the sobs, balling her hands into fists and feeling her nails dig into her palms. No matter how short she cut them, they always seemed to successfully draw blood.

A knock on her window made her jump and, with red eyes and nose, she looked at the window: Jughead. The look of concern was evident on his face. She opened the window to let him climb in but quickly sat back down – she wasn't sure her legs could take her weight in that moment. The second he had shut the window behind him, he began venting.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with that boy? What, the rules don't apply overseas or something? What kind of asshole pulls something like that? Was he too much of a fucking coward to actually call it off officially? Did he have to post a fucking selfie of him making out with someone else? Actually, you know what? The answer to that is a giant no! He did not need to do that to you. Absolutely not. And-" he only then seemed to notice that she was sitting there, crying - "oh my god, I'm so sorry, Betty!" In an instant he was beside her, pulling her into his arms. "I'm this mad, I can't even imagine what you must be feeling!" She didn't trust herself to speak so she simply nodded. He pulled away from her, looking at her with an intensity she had never seen him display. "Do you need anything?"

"I don't want to be alone," she replied and his brow creased for a moment before he relaxed and nodded, going backwards so they were leaning against her headboard. He held her in silence, until her breathing evened and she was too exhausted to cry anymore. "I hate him," she whispered into the crook of Jughead's neck. The boy beside her nodded.

"So do I. You should get some sleep," he said, getting ready to move away from her but her grip over his midriff tightened and she pulled the blanket up over them. So he continued laying there, rubbing her arm to comfort her. The rhythm of his hand over her arm made Betty's eyelids droop and slowly she drifted off to sleep. Right before slipping into unconsciousness, she felt him kiss her temple and, in spite of the night's events, she managed a small smile before falling into a dreamless slumber.

Betty had never had a hangover but she couldn't imagine it would be worse than the headache and puffy eyes she had the next morning. When she woke up, Jughead's arms were still wrapped around her and he was asleep. She just watched his face, absorbing the peace he was in. On the nightstand, her phone buzzed, bringing her out of her thoughts.

 _Archie._

And, just like that, the tears were back. With a tremble in her hands and an even greater tremble in her voice, she slowly picked up, cleared her throat and said, "Hello?"

"Betty?" His voice was too familiar considering what a different person he had become. It pained her. "Listen, I was just calling to say that I'm sorry you had to find out this. But, let's be real, it wasn't working between us. We stopped clicking a while ago. Before I left, actually. Leaving only solidified whatever it was that wasn't happening for us. I'm sorry but it's okay, right? You have Jughead." The second she heard the words, Betty felt rage replace sadness. No, not rage, hatred. Pure, unadulterated hatred. Hatred that was a brilliant hue of red which blinded her. Her free hand clenched into a fist again to stop itself from shaking. This time her voice trembled with a different emotion.

"You thought I cheated on you?" She asked softly. Dangerously. A hand intertwined with her clenched one, separating the nails from her palm. She glanced behind at Jughead, feeling a surge of gratitude in spite of her anger.

"Well, Cheryl's-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise Cheryl Blossom was my fucking PR team! I didn't realise that everything she posted was completely true. Also, she never said I cheated on you. She made a joke. A fucking joke, Archie. She certainly wasn't ok-ing your desire to stick your tongue down the throat of someone who wasn't in a relationship with you. Also, if you were so sure our relationship was dying, why didn't you break up with me before leaving? You know, like a good, honest person would have? Or was that too difficult for poor, little Archibald? Jughead was right – you are a fucking coward." She spat the last two words with as much venom as she could muster.

"Wait, Jughead's there?" Was his first response. Betty didn't know whether to laugh or to throw something. She heard Jughead do a sharp intake of breath behind her and realised her grip had been too strong. Quickly she loosened, giving him an apologetic look.

"If that's the first thing you think of after everything I said..." she trailed off, giving a laugh of disbelief. She had never imagined that she would be in this position. And she had definitely never imagined it would be with Archie – the boy she had long ago decided was the love of her life. "You know what, Archie? Just enjoy your time there, okay? Don't call me or write to me. And, when you come back for vacation, don't bother asking me to meet up."

"Betty-"

"Bye," she hung up and threw her phone onto the bed, as far away from her. The conversation ended and her legs, which had held her up thanks to pure adrenaline, buckled under her. She didn't see him move but somehow Jughead was on the ground, breaking her fall and preventing her from hurting herself. She knew that she wouldn't have hurt herself – the carpet was thick enough – but she decided not to mention it. Instead they sat on the ground in silence and she noticed him watching her as if she were a ticking time bomb. She gave a wry chuckle. "I'm not going to explode, don't worry."

"He doesn't deserve someone as incredible as you," Jughead replied and, although it sounded like a standard compliment, the amount of emotion he injected into it made Betty's heart warm. She nodded, telling him she agreed with him. They stayed on the ground for a few minutes more and then Alice knocked on the bedroom door, calling for Betty, telling her she was leaving for work. Betty shouted back in acknowledgement. Once Alice's heels had clicked away, Jughead took his leave and, with great reluctance, Betty let him go.

Betty didn't know how to not be in love with Archie. She had liked him for so long now that it was inconceivable to her that she could have a different emotion towards him. This meant that, when Archie returned for break, old feelings suddenly flared up. She hated it but she got butterflies when she saw him and wished he would say something to her. However, when he tried, reason kicked in and she would excuse herself from the scene. Everyone in town knew about their situation at this point and most sided with Betty. Pop charged Archie normal rates for the burgers while giving Betty a discount (which meant Jughead often tagged along); Veronica had a Christmas party and, although she invited Archie, made sure he felt unwelcome; Cheryl was a bitch to Archie whenever she could be; Toni followed her girlfriend's example; Kevin didn't compliment Archie's physique once; even Fred (at whose house Alice had turned up with the news of the relationship ending) seemed permanently disappointed in Archie Andrews.

So, when Spring Break rolled around, news spread that Archie was not returning. Although the official reason was that he was going to go out with some friends so he could bond better, everyone knew the reason.

Through all this, Betty remained very confused about her emotions. Not to mention, now that Archie was gone, she had more time to herself and she chose to spend most of that time with Jughead. They were applying to the same universities for journalism so they spent most of their time in the library, working on their resumes and application forms. Betty found herself looking forward to these library sessions more than she had ever looked forward to a date with Archie. It was odd – every session was the same and yet they managed to have a different conversation every time, keeping them interesting.

Betty wasn't sure when the switch flipped but, a few months later, she found herself constantly glancing at Jughead's lips, wondering what they felt like, what he tasted like.

It scared her. And when Betty wasn't completely sure of something, she didn't act on it. Therefore, although, by the time they were ready to leave, Betty wanted to kiss him once, more than anything, she simply hugged him before leaving for university. She lingered a moment longer than she had intended, her eyes wet.

"I promise I'll keep in touch," he whispered to her and she nodded, hearing Archie's voice in her head, saying the exact same thing. She had believed him back then and reminded herself not to make the same mistake twice. This, Betty was realising, was the problem – everywhere she thought of doing anything with Jughead, Archie's smug smile and distant eyes popped back into her head. To top it off, she wasn't sure if Jughead liked her and, if her feelings weren't reciprocated, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to open herself up again.

Jughead kept his promise.

Every other day they would FaceTime and, when they weren't talking, they were texting. Betty heard the rumours of her mystery boyfriend circulate in her class and smiled to herself, not bothering to correct them. One weekend, Veronica flew out to meet her and Betty told her about the FaceTiming and everything that had been plaguing her. Veronica's brow furrowed for a while and, when Betty finally prompted her for her advice, she gave it.

"Betty, you need to let Archie go." That wasn't what Betty expected. With a confused smile and cocking her head to one side, she questioned her best friend.

"What do you mean? I'm over him." But, as she said it, she knew it was a lie. The fact that she thought about him and still felt a pang in her heart was evidence enough.

"No you aren't. But I also think you might be in love with Jughead," said Veronica, once again to Betty's surprise. She knew there was an attraction but she had never used the word "love" in her musings about what could be if she were romantically involved with Jughead.

"Veronica that's ridiculous. I'm not in love with Jughead. I may like him but I'm not in love with him," she said, rolling her eyes for extra effect. Veronica studied her for a moment.

"Be that as it may, he is definitely in love with you. Has been nearly as long as you've been in love with Archie, actually," she replied with a shrug. Betty's eyes bulged at this information.

"Did he tell you that?"

"Didn't have to," Veronica waggled her eyebrows, taking a fry and biting into it to add dramatic flair. "Come on, Betty. We all know you're terrible at knowing whether or not someone likes you. Remember Trev Brown? Or, even better, that odd time when Reggie had a thing for you? I mean you guys went out like five times and you still accused him of assaulting you when he tried to kiss you."

"I wasn't expecting it!"

"I'm not saying he shouldn't have asked first; I'm just saying it was kinda obvious to everyone except you. So I'm not surprised that you couldn't tell Jughead was in love with you. But anyway, so what are you going to do about the situation?" She asked and Betty shrugged, having no response. Veronica laughed at this and, considering the matter closely, proceeded to tell her about how her education was going.

Betty's mind wandered while Veronica spoke, going back to the last few months. If Veronica was right and what she felt was, in fact, love (and, as much as she wished her best friend was wrong, a nagging sensation told her otherwise), she must have been entirely mistaken about what she felt toward Archie. After all, with Archie, the way she acted was dictated by a sense of duty she felt about what being the perfect girlfriend entailed. With Jughead it was different – he didn't expect anything more than what she gave and she reciprocated. On top of that, unlike Archie who had never noticed the crescents on her palms, Jughead had held her hand to stop her from defining them further.

And that was information she hadn't shared with anyone.

 _Maybe there is a possibility..._ she decided to focus on what Veronica was saying.

Jughead was there to welcome her at the airport when she came back for Christmas. It was not a white Christmas. Instead, it was pouring when Betty returned. Riverdale was grey and wet and yet welcoming. She all but ran into Jughead's arms, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"I missed you," his voice was muffled by her hair and she smiled, tightening her grip in response, never wanting to let go. "Okay," he said after a near half-minute, pulling away much to Betty's dismay, "should I take your bags?"

"You can take two. I'll carry the other two," she replied and he nodded.

"Division of labour. How very efficient," he smirked and she chuckled, following him to his truck. Putting the bags into the back, she got into the front beside him, looking at him and taking him in. He noticed this and gave her a curious smile. "What?"

"Nothing. I just... I really missed this. I really missed you," she hoped he could hear her sincerity. His blush seemed to indicate his comprehension and he nodded, clearing his throat awkwardly before starting the engine and driving her to her place.

The Lodge Lodge was where they were spending New Years Eve. Veronica had brought about ten other people to her place but, somehow, by the time they were nearing midnight, Betty and Jughead were the only ones in the common area. It was pouring outside so Betty was starting wonder where the rest were. She knew there was probably someone passed out in one bathroom and four people had disappeared doing activities Betty didn't particularly want to think about. But that just accounted for five people, so where were the rest? Then she remembered that before Veronica had left to get more chips and dip, she had winked at Betty and said, "Good luck." Betty hadn't understood what it meant at the time but now, looking at Jughead, she understood exactly what Veronica had meant.

"So, when do you go back?" Jughead attempted small talk – it wasn't his strong suit but she smiled, appreciating the effort.

"The third. University restarts on the fourth," she replied. "I wonder where those people are. Did four people really need to go to get groceries?" She said incredulously and he chuckled.

"Maybe they got lost. Do you think we should look for them?"

"In that storm? You're crazy if you think I'll ever go out there," he scoffed and she gave a sly smile. Instantly a look of caution crossed his face. "Betty Cooper, don't you dare-" but she was already outside. It was a terrible idea the moment she was standing in the rain. It was freezing in the rain but, for some odd reason, she absolutely loved it.

"You're going to need to come out here if you're going to kiss me in the next ten minutes," she shouted to Jughead, who was standing on the porch, eyeing the rain in great distaste. When she said that, his head jerked up and he stared at her wide-eyed as if asking how she knew.

"I wasn't aware we had such an agreement," he shouted back, the sky rumbling with thunder as the wind picked up speech, sending shivers all over Betty's now-soaking person.

"It'll be midnight in ten minutes and we seem to be the only two people here," she said and for a moment she thought relief crossed his features. But then his guard rose again.

"I don't believe in New Years traditions. They're redundant and don't mean anything!" He called back and Betty laughed.

"Your loss, Jughead Jones," she twirled again and, to test a theory, ran toward the woods. She heard someone swear loudly behind and turned around to find Jughead standing a few feet from the porch, already drenched, his shirt sticking to him deliciously. Betty was simply delighted that it had worked. Her smile faltered when she noticed how he was looking at her: he looked actually mad. "Jug, um, I'm sorry, I-"

"Oh no, Betty, apologies aren't going to cut it. If I'm going to be freezing in this thin white shirt, I'm going to need you to be in a similar state. Take off the jacket; I know you're wearing a white t-shirt under it," he smirked and Betty's eyes widened momentarily at this proposition before she complied, taking off the jacket. He laughed when she did and then went up to her. To her surprise, he picked her up and spun her around, although she suspected it was to get her t-shirt properly wet. Still, she never wanted to leave his arms. Almost as soon as she had that thought, he lowered her, to her dismay.

"What was that for?" He shrugged in response.

"Did you like it?"

"It wasn't the worst."

"I'll take that compliment."

"You know, when Veronica said she was calling you over, I assumed that you would say no," Betty admitted something that had been on her mind since they had arrived. Jughead smiled, nodding with understanding.

"I would have, under normal circumstances," he admitted, gazing into her eyes with the familiar intensity she had come to associate with him. In that moment, Betty didn't know how it happened or why it happened, and it hit her, while moments like this often brought up memories of Archie, for the first time in so long, he didn't even cross Betty's mind. All she could think about was how he used normal to explain why this was anything but.

The cold made her hyper aware of everything.

And yet she never saw him lean him. One moment they were looking at each other and the next his lips were on hers and he was kissing her. He pulled away when she didn't respond immediately and looked instantly guilty.

"Betty I'm so sor-" she placed her hands on his cheeks and, pulling him towards her, kissed him hard. She felt him relax under her palms and his own hands warm her by cupping her face. Standing in the rain, kissing the boy she was undeniably in love with made Betty feel lighter than she had in months. In spite of the intense cold they were standing in, she felt warm and comfortable. She felt revived. And, when they broke apart, despite her breathlessness, she felt like she could finally breathe. She was so giddy that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Has anyone ever told you that you apologise way too much for a self-prescribed loner weirdo?"


End file.
